Part 84: Multi-Arm Clubbing?! (Lumen vs. Hecatoncheires)

Update 67: Multi-Arm Clubbing?! (Lumen vs. Hecatoncheires)



...Wait, what happened while we were sleeping?
The universe ended. It was just Realga, Stardust and I in a big, red void.
Oooookay. And why is the universe intact right now?
I fixed it by time travelling everything.
Ooooooooookay, Sophie, let's get going to breakfast! C'mon, move it!
Ooh, I hope Regina has monster pancakes again!
...Why did you tell her that? Did you tell her about the...others?
I dunno, it's fun to talk about. And no.
Good. ...I doubt she would've believed you if you said you saw a...Ronin, I guess, with bunny ears and someone less than half our height, anyway.

Zack's along for the ride because I needed a source of bash damage for Hecatoncheires's conditional.

...Yes, I forgot that Ranger, during Transform, has a skill that deals bash damage. Don't judge me.






SYSTEM: However, its very being overflows with choking malice and raw, primal violence! This is the true monster that has existed for countless ages, and devoured guards and adventurers alike... Hecatoncheires! Though you may be overcome with fear, there can be no retreat from this monstrosity! Your duty is to exterminate the fearsome titan before you. Leap into action, and confront this abomination!
I can barely see that thing and I already know that I don't like it.


Yeeeeeeeeep, I really don't like it.
Eating around all of those nails is gonna be annoying.


I hope my effects don't blind us in the fog...

VIDEO: Boss Fight: Hecatoncheires





Hecatoncheires
HP: 77000, STR: 92, TEC: 60, VIT: 70, AGI: 36, LUC: 61
Skills:

• Hellish Wail: Uses the head. Reduces each party member's maximum HP by 50% for 6 turns. Attempts to inflict curse on each party member, with a 60% base chance. Has no speed modifier.
  
• Colossal Meteor: Uses the arms. Deals 400% melee STR-based bash damage to each party member. Has a 60% speed modifier and 10 base accuracy.
  
• Hundred Strikes: Uses the arms. Deals 180% melee STR-based bash damge to 3-5 random targets. Can hit the same target once at most. Attempts to bind hit targets' legs, with a 100% base chance. Lowers hit targets' non-base evasion by 500 for 4 turns. Has an 80% speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.
  
• Grinding Mace: Uses the arms. Deals 150% melee STR-based Bash damage to the front row. Reduces hit targets' physical defense by 50% for 4 turns. Has an 80% speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.
  
• Binding Spike: Uses the arms. Deals 300% melee STR-based bash damage to the back row. Attempts to bind hit targets' heads, with a 50% base chance. Has a 200% speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.

Drops:

• Normal: Giant Skin. 100% chance. Sells for 23000 en. 1 needed to make Giant's Gown (+66 DEF, +30 HP).
  "Patchwork skin of the thousand-handed giant. It's obvious this isn't its original skin."
  
• Conditional: Broken Stake (Kill with bash damage). 100% chance. Sells for 30000 en. 1 needed to make Wolfram Nail (+231 ATK, +40 HP, +4 VIT).
  "One of the countless stakes in the monster. The deeper-driven ones are less given to rot."

Damage resistances:
125% 125% 125% 150% 150% 150%
Disable resistances:
25% 75% 25% 50% 0% 0% 25%
0% 0% 10%
25% 50% 25%

A construct whose many hands each hold a weapon. It unleashes a tireless barrage...

Hecatoncheires is a heavily patternized boss that deals incredibly heavy physical damage. I could really just say that and you'd probably be able to see where this fight's going. Fighting him really comes down to knowing who in your party's going to be hit by whatever's coming up, especially Binding Spike since that can really easily one-shot your back row.

His pattern goes something like this:

• Phase 1 (Start of fight):
  
  • Turn 1: Hellish Wail
    
  • Turn 2: Grinding Mace
    
  • Turn 3: Attack
• Phase 2 (End of phase 1 to 70% HP):
  
  • Turn 1: Colossal Meteor
    
  • Turn 2: Grinding Mace
    
  • Turn 3: Attack
    
  • Loops until next phase
• Phase 3 (70% HP):
  
  • Turn 1: Hellish Wail
    
  • Turn 2: Grinding Mace
    
  • Turn 3: Binding Spike
• Phase 4 (End of phase 3 to 40% HP):
  
  • Turn 1: Colossal Meteor
    
  • Turn 2: Grinding Mace
    
  • Turn 3: Binding Spike
    
  • Loops until next phase
• Phase 5 (40% HP):
  
  • Turn 1: Hellish Wail
    
  • Turn 2: Binding Spike
    
  • Turn 3: Hundred Strikes
• Phase 6 (End of phase 5 to death):
  
  • Turn 1: Colossal Meteor
    
  • Turn 2: Binding Spike
    
  • Turn 3: Hundred Strikes
    
  • Loops until death

Fairly simple to get your head around, I think.



Zack starts building up Heavy Smash damage.




Ranger uses Transform immediately so he can just start unloading on Hecatoncheires. I really don't want this fight to go on for very long, since this party can NOT survive a prolonged slugfest with Hecatoncheires. Binding Spike would pretty much one-shot everyone in the back.



Compression, same as it ever was.



Milly does her job of making the fight take less time.



Stopping Hellish Wail is my number 1 priority since that shit's impossible to fight with and I don't have Barrier right now.


Ick, it tastes like a fleshy quilt.
You don't seem like you've been enjoying eating the monsters recently.
They've been getting less and less tasty ever since we got here...



Perfect.



Binding Hecatoncheires's head amplifies Ranger's and Stardust's damage, which is nice.


Why am I using this piece of crap, again?!
Because those drunks at the bar shouted something about bashing the nails in, and Ranger took them at their word. _Idiot.



Elemental murder is fun.



Next up on Sophie's itinerary: stop the actually dangerous skills.



A rousing success.



Eeeeew.



Holy gods, that's nearly 20% of Heca's HP.



I'm hesitant to use Madness Curse on Heca, since his normal attacks still hurt, and could easily kill Stardust or Milly. Evil Eye's less reliable on the actual turn of infliction, but on subsequent turns, I can guarantee that Heca won't do anything.



Mmmm... Heca didn't have his action taken away. Hopefully the fact that this is only a normal attack turn means we'll be okay...


Ow.
That's all you have to say after being smacked sideways with a giant mace? "Ow?"
I mean, I'm not dead, what else would I say?



The effect of a level 20 Volt Prelude, incidentally.



Even with his low resistances, Heca's still a massive HP sponge.



I could level up Suicide Word on Sophie if I really wanted to get more out of fear, but honestly, I mostly care about taking enemy turns away, Suicide Word deals less damage relative to total HP pools than it did in EOU, and I really want more points in the binding Curses.



This is how postgame boss fights tend to go, if you haven't noticed by this point. Incapacitate the enemy with disables, and unload big nuke damage with Force Boosts, and hope you win before both of those end.



At least we're almost done. I'm getting decently lucky with how long the binds are sticking.



Aw crap. On the Binding Spike turn, too.

I have everyone but Zack and Milly defend--Zack uses Heavy Smash, while Milly uses Crusade. I really hope that's enough to knock off that last bit of HP.


We'll be back soon, anyway...
Kill that thing...now...
Time to dream of tastier food...


Heh, nothing to it.
Why are they dead?
I'll tell you later. Let's get these three over to Realga for now...



SYSTEM: You have fought against an unimaginable threat, and come out victorious! The souls of all those who fell victim to the monster can finally rest in peace, as well... You search through the monster's body thoroughly, and find a fine katana, completely unrusted! You have just found “Hyuga"...one of the finest blades in existence! Congratulations! You have eliminated the monster, and obtained the best katana known in this world! Visit the bar when you have the time, and report to Cass of your results!
Wait...huh?


Why is this here? What could that thing have done with a katana?
Maybe it just liked collecting things.



Ey, Lumen... So, did yeh kill that monster?
I mean, I'd hope so.
Heh, I see. Well, can't say I'm surprised. It's yeh lot, after all. After yeh left, that old Minister came by, all grovelin' and miserable, sayin' that he sent yeh to yer deaths... So I told him! Yeh lot ain't some kids that'd lose to some chump monster. He oughta just wait and believe in yeh! Seriously, yeh're practically everybody's sweethearts now. Yeh even won over that uptight old coot! Well, that's all fine and dandy, but don't yeh go worryin' us when yeh don't have to! Haw haw haw haw! ...Well, enough of this ramblin' from me. Here, just take this. It's yer reward! See yeh next time!





Selling off Heca's drops.

Wolfram Nail (+231 ATK, +40 HP, +4 VIT) is made from 1 Broken Stake. +40 HP is decent, especially when you consider it'll translate to +120 HP during Desperation.

Giant's Gown (+66 DEF, +30 HP) is unlocked by selling 1 Giant Skin.



At this point, I went and killed Salamander to get what I need for The ancient blade.





SYSTEM: The sharpener doesn't seem interested in your questions--he just wants what he requested of you. Patience wearing thin, you sigh heavily, but hand over the sword and the requested Flame Marrow.
Here you go.
Yes. Yes... I should be able to with these...




Eh, wha?
Here! Look! Look at this! Doesn't this sword look amazing!?
SYSTEM: The sharpener is acting like a gleeful child in a candy store. Dubiously, you take a look at the sword... You cannot believe your eyes! Once dulled and useless, the sword is now gleaming--even shining with power!
Oooooooh!
Shiny.
Hmm... How much do you think this would fetch at market?
Not enough to offset the bad things that would happen if we lost it.
Hmhmhmhm... Yeah. Yeah, that was definitely a good sharpening job.
SYSTEM: With that, the sharpener tosses the sword... Its point pierces the stone ground, and it stands upright! It is as sharp as it appears... You give the sharpener a slight glare. His careless throw could have hit one of your party... However, he doesn't seem to care.
Hmm? You're still here? Go. I'm done. We don't have any more business. You should go home.
SYSTEM: You wonder what happened to his joyful demeanor, but realize in resignation that you would get nowhere by asking.
What the hell is this dude...thing...bird's problem?
SYSTEM: You take the sword with you, and decide to go back to the bar to report.





Ey, yer job's over? Seems like yeh made it back in one piece.
Yep. Now we've got a freshly-sharpened mystic sword...which is dangerously poking out of our backpack.
I'm not at fault if someone gets hurt by that thing.
Whoah! What's with that sword? *sigh* I ain't a weapons buff or anythin', but I know a damn fine sword when I see one... Lord, if I was to sell that thing... Whoof. I could friggin' retire.
Tell me about it...
Haw haw haw! I kid, I kid! I love cash, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't swipe someone else's stuff! Honestly though, that is some fine sword yeh got! Yeh sure it's okay to go wavin' that in public? Haw haw haw!


Hmm? Whassamatter, guy, yeh need something?
No, I wish to speak with members of Lumen, if I may. Please... There's no way around it. That sword came from the forbidden woods.
...Yeah, and?
The truth is, I am here on behalf of the princess. May I take that sword from you? That sword is from within Yggdrasil... and more importantly, it's from the forbidden woods. The princess has suggested that by studying information from old literature, we might be able to uncover new secrets.
Seems reasonable to me.
Rest assured, we will return it once our research is complete. For the sake of our study...would you give it to us?
Sure, why not? I can't use this thing, anyway.
Members of Lumen... I realize the request was sudden. I thank you for your cooperation. I will bring this to the princess, and have her study it. I greatly appreciate your generosity and understanding. Please excuse me...


Well, the princess won't do anythin' bad with it. Yeh just need to relax until the sword comes back, eh? I mean, long as yeh aren't itchin' to jump back into the forest! Haw haw haw! Here. It ain't exactly worth as much as what yeh just gave away, but this is yer reward. Take it!





Fetus is handling the bottom 3 DLCs (thank god). In light of that, let's take on the top two. These are both related to Ginnungagap bosses that got scrapped in favor of Basilisk and Arachne--I explained this way back in the Demi-Fafnir update.

Winter's Harbinger:

Yeh're takin' that one, eh...? If I'm bein' honest, I got no idea who posted it.
Great start.
Before I knew it, I had a letter in one hand and a reward in the other. The letter was full of some kinda rantin' bout decrees, an' stars...but since I got a reward, I figured I'd post it.
Winged One?
Winged One. I'd even wager it might've been Canaan.
About the quest. Seems this guy's home is bein' invaded by some kinda new monster. From what this letter says, the monster, uh, “has turned a land of petals into a frigid and unforgiving wasteland..." ...Yeh have any idea what that's supposed to mean? Well, I got no idea what yeh're walkin' into, but since yeh accepted it, I s'pose I'll just say to be careful. The letter points to a spot close to the stairs on the 18th floor. Someone's gonna meet yeh there, so ask 'em for the details. Alright, g'luck!

Thunder Queen's Legacy:

Oh, yeh're takin' that one! Ah, I really appreciate it. The last bunch I sent out got completely thrashed! Oops! Uh...pretend yeh didn't hear that, awright...? Yes? ...Right! Hear what? See...a completely unfamiliar monster's shown up in the Labyrinth, and everyone's talkin' about it. So the guard corps went to check it out, but yeh can probably imagine how that went. They barely made it back.
I kinda wonder what the point of the guards are if they constantly end up dead...
So they put it up as a quest for adventurers...but the same thing's been happenin' again and again. ...And now yeh got it! So go take care of it! No complainin'! That thing was spotted on the 7th floor, in a pretty big room... Alright, g'luck! ...And be careful, yeh lot!

That'll do for now. Next time: Frost King and Thunder Queen.